Order Out of Chaos

I have reason to be on edge today. I endured a chaotic fire drill at school, at which I carried an infant in each arm down the stairs while shuffling along a line of screaming toddlers only to go outside in the freezing cold with only my slippers on and no coat. (Deep breath) It's all over, and we are all safe. We were sent home early after the whole fiasco, and after accomplishing several tasks on my cleaning to-do list I figured I deserve a soothing and almost therapeutic activity: sorting buttons.

I haven't done this in a real long time, but since my craft room has been so clean lately I have a wide open space on my table to work on it. I was not alone in the sorting. My husband joined me in my craft room, which is rare. He read something scary online and didn't want to be alone, hehehe. I guess he needed some relaxing therapy too.

I have a ton of buttons! Most are sorted, but I have a few containers I've bought from recent estate sales that haven't been touched yet. We sifted and seperated and standardized them by color and sorted them in different jars. A few buttons were unique and almost had a personality of their own; these ones we put on a tray. I use the unique buttons for inspiration when I begin forming them into special collections. 

I don't know what it is about sorting a bunch of tiny items that makes it relaxing. We could have been sorting legos, change, or even puzzle pieces and the result would have been the same. Also, currently we are listening to Damien Jurado, who performs pretty chill music. A little Damien Jurado and a cup of hot tea will help anyone set the mood to unwind for the evening. I believe I'm ready for bed now. Here's to hoping for a normal day at work tomorrow!

The Shrinky Dink Experiment

There are two words that bring as much joy to a little kid as it does for an adult who is in her late twenties- SNOW DAAAAY!!! To clarify, there is hardly any snow on the ground, but the temperature is below zero. School administration thought it best for employees to stay home and hibernate for a day or two. 

I thought it was my opportunity to try something I've always wanted- shrinky dink jewelry! I've been into stud earrings lately. It started when I found out the toddlers at school like to yank dangly earrings out of ears. "No, thank you!" as we say in Montessori. So the best solution is wearing studs, which I included in my Christmas list this year and have recieved many. But I want more! So here's what I did to make these...

Things you'll need...

1. paper and pencil to doodle ideas

2. shrinky dink paper you can buy at the craft store

3. permanent markers

4. scissors

5. foil and baking sheet

6. oven (toaster or conventional)

7. earring findings

8. nail file or fine sand paper

9. E6000 glue, which apparently may cause kidney damage and cancer. Fun.

10. a nice cup of tea just for kicks

Instructions

1. Start by doodling your ideas on paper on what kind of earrings you'd like to make. Know that if your design is 10" it will shrink to 4.25" once completed. So you do the math. I hope you remember simple algebra from 4th grade.

2. When you are content with your design you are ready to trace it onto the shrinky dink paper. Shrinky dink paper has two sides, one shiny and the other more rough. Trace the design with thin permanent marker on the SHINY side. Black marker works best, but I couldn't find mine...

3. This is when tracing paper would have come in handy, because you could flip it over and trace the mirror image. If you don't have any like me, I just flipped the design I had just traced and put another piece of shrinky dink paper over that. Trace the mirrored image of the desing onto that second piece of paper. Now you have two.

4. Flip both pieces of paper over so the rough side is facing up. Fill in the design however you wish. This is second to the best part! It's just like coloring when you were a little kid. This is when you whip up some tea and listen to some happy sounding Pandora station, like Regina Spektor. Have fun!

5. Cut out both designs with scissors. There's room for error because you will file the edges at the end to make them more smooth, so don't sweat it.

6. Preheat oven to the instructions that came with the shrinky dink paper you bought. Mine was preaheated to 325 degrees F.

7. Line a baking sheet with foil, and place the two pieces of shrinky dink on it. Make sure the baking sheet is nice and flat. Place it in the oven and prepare to be amazed!

8. Okay, so this is where it gets foggy for me. I also lost the English worded directions that came with the pack of paper. I had to translate the Spanish directions...Ugh, apparently my algebra is way better than what I remember from Spanish class. So...you leave the baking sheet in there for only 1-3 minutes. Hopefully, your oven has a little window you could look through and watch the magic happen. Your shrinky dink will begin to move and curl. Don't panic! Keep watching!

9. Breathe out! And by the time you do, you'll notice your shrinky dink designs begin to flatten themselves back onto the baking sheet. After the 1-3 mintues, take the sheet out. Let the work cool for 30 seconds before handling.

10. Use a nail file or fine sand paper to sand down any sharp corners or to smooth out the sides.

11. Glue earring findings with E6000 glue, following the directions on the tube.

ALL DONE!

Here is a before picture of my work before I popped them in the oven, and here they are after they've shrunk. Pretty impressed! I like how they shrink but become thicker.

I want a couple more snow days to make more! :) 

A New Start

Alright, here we go 2014! I'm off to a positive start already! I finally got my act together and cleaned up after Hurricane Craftzilla ravaged my room last year. Everything is now rearranged, and I even have room for friends at the table!

Wow, I think I see my floor!

There's a couple more areas I want to organize on the shelf, perhaps some things to give away. But I'll save that for another day :) 

 Okay, I think it's time for a nap. Phew!

Ugh...

Okay, I really have to get my act together! Just look at my craft room! I'd like to blame somebody else for throwing a bomb in here, but really it was me. Yea, I'm a human tornado...

I'm so embarrassed to say I'm a Montessori teacher in training, and this is what my craft room looks like! Shame shame shame...Time to apply Montessori to my own adult life and see if there's still hope and time to become a more organized person.

The plan is to tackle this shelf tonight! I'm setting Spotify to some lively dance tunes, and ready...set...CLEAN!!!

In Time for Winter

Daniel requested a new scarf since the one he currently has is now a ratty brown thing that I crocheted a couple of years ago. I'm knitting this cowl using fisherman's wool and a herringbone pattern. My new love is herringbone, though I still fall head over heals over anything striped or chevron patterned.

A couple more podcasts and Ted Talks and this cowl will be done!!

Craft for Comfort

I'm almost done! Well, I shouldn't be so proud. I've been working on this thing for a couple months now; off and on I should say. But, one has to admit it's looking pretty good. The pattern is from a book titled, Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans, which I borrowed from my wonderful library, of course. (If you have something against libraries you can also find the pattern on Ravelry.)
Speaking of comfort knitting and crochet, I think I can include comfort crafting in that category. As I've gone along on this journey of craft, I've concluded a couple things about myself...

1. I love making things!
2. I never finish anything I make...oops.

These are the cold facts. Over the past couple of months since the last time I've written, I've come to accept this about myself. Maybe what I make isn't as important to me, but it's the process that gives me joy whether I finish anything or not. I find comfort in working with my hands. It's more of a task that helps me think and appreciate the quiet and stillness of life.

I used to feel guilty for not using my skills for making crafts to sell. But worrying about making money sucks the joy out and so does having mental deadlines. Now, I just make. This blanket will be finished sometime, it doesn't matter when.

A Crafter's Dilema

I'm a craft schizophrenic. It is both a good and bad thing. One day I'm cutting out a vintage dress pattern I found at an estate sale, the next I'm tatting a doily out of yarn, and then I switch to making a banana piñata. Random, I know. My downfall is I enjoy crafting too much for my own good, and the variety out there is overwhelming. I want to delve in and learn every new and forgotten craft in this diverse world.

I want to kumihimo! I'm not sure if "kumihimo" is a verb or a noun in the Japanese language, but in English it is Japanese braid making. The result of kumihimo is beautiful and intricate rope for ornamental purposes, like jewelry. I had no idea this existed until I found it on Amazon.com while browsing tatting books.

(via Knotty Notions)

(via Tampa Bead Cafe)

(via Bead Q!)

Beautiful! I'm especially attracted to the pieces incorporated with beads. Oooo, shiny shiny! This is like my experience at a Chinese buffet; I want to try everything I see. But sadly, I don't get to finish everything on my plate. Maybe I will be able to do kumihimo someday after I finish the dozens of projects I'm already currently working on...